Dancing Fics
by Jedi Aeryn
Summary: These could really be several stories, but I chose to make them one longer tale. They're all songfics about a dance on Voyager. J/C
1. Blast From the Past

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Trust me. If I did, I wouldn't live in a little gray house in the middle of Kentucky.  
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Author's Note: This is my first attempt at a "Voyager" fic, although I've written some "Farscape" fics for another website. Please r&r.   
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Kathryn Janeway breathed a sigh of relief as the last ship exploded in a ball of flame. "Stand down red alert," she ordered. "Damage?"  
  
"Secondary hull breach on decks seven, eight, and nine. Emergency force fields are holding," reported Harry Kim.  
  
"Casualties?" the captain inquired.  
  
"Fourteen injuries, one critical. No fatalities," the Doctor's voice commed from sickbay.  
  
Ensign Kim spoke with alarm, "Captain, an anomaly is forming where that last ship was. It seems to be some kind of highly unstable temporal wormhole!"  
  
"Temporal wormhole?" Captain Janeway echoed.  
  
"Captain," Tuvok interrupted, "something is coming through the anomaly. It appears to be a bubble of environment with one occupant. There is no technology aboard. This... bubble is highly unstable and will collapse in five seconds."  
  
"Harry, get her out of there!" Janeway ordered. "I'm headed to sickbay. Chakotay, you have the bridge."  
  
The captain arrived in sickbay to find a visibly shaken human girl sitting on a biobed. "Where am I?" she asked.  
  
"You are aboard the Federation Starship Voyager. I'm-"  
  
"Captain Kathryn Janeway," the girl finished.  
  
Startled, the captain replied, "Yes. Have we met?"  
  
"No," the girl answered. "I had no idea that you were real. Are they all real? Chakotay? Seven? Tuvok?" She hesitated, her face flushing, "Tom?"  
  
"Yes. How do you know of us?"  
  
The girl smiled. "A TV... I mean, there's a legend on my planet. A great prophet named Gene Roddenberry predicted that there would be a great starship that would explore the Delta Quadrant. I'm from the year 2001. And chill out. The Prime Directive and Temporal Prime Directive are both useless. I have... erm... studied the works of Mister Roddenberry extensively. I know all about you. My name is Erin." The girl beamed at the captain and stuck out her hand.  
  
The crew was quite surprised when the captain returned with a girl at her side. The girl looked to be around fourteen or fifteen, and she had brown hair. Her skin was the same creamy white skin and complexion as Captain Janeway. Her eyes were a startling shade of deep green with amber and blue flecks. She projected an air of confidence, and anyone who didn't know better would think she was the captain's daughter.  
  
"Everyone," the captain spoke, "meet Erin. She will be our guest for a while. She comes from the early twenty-first century, but she knows quite a bit about us."  
  
Erin moved around the bridge. She stepped up to Tuvok first. Keeping a straight face and emotionless eyes, she raised her right hand, middle and ring fingers split. "Live long and prosper," she greeted. Tuvok actually seemed startled, but he returned her greeting. The girl crossed the room to Harry. "Ensign Kim. Pleased to make your acquaintance." She stuck out her hand to shake. Harry did, quite as surprised as Tuvok. "Chakotay!" she said, beaming as she walked down the steps. The commander was alarmed for an instant when the girl walked over and hugged him. She walked forward to Tom. Suddenly, she seemed very shy and her face flushed. "Hi, Tom," she said, nearly whispering.  
  
"Hi," he responded, looking puzzled.  
  
Still flushing, she turned back to the captain. "Permission to go to my quarters?" she asked.  
  
With a smile, Janeway responded, "Granted."  
  
She walked out. As the turbolift doors closed, the captain spoke again. "You've now met our new guest. And Tom, I do believe she fancies you."  
  
  
Erin's door chimed. "Come in," she said. Captain Janeway entered.  
  
"You are quite remarkable. You have adapted to living here as though you have all your life. Would you like a comm badge?" she offered.  
  
"Very much, ma'am," the girl answered. Then she held up the odd black case she'd been carrying when she arrived. She opened it to reveal several flat, round objects. "Are you familiar with twenty-first century Earth?" Erin asked. "I know your parents were traditionalists, but I don't know whether even they owned a CD player?"  
  
The captain looked genuinely confused. "No. What is a CD player?"  
  
Erin indicated her case full of objects. "These are CDs. This is how the people in my time record and share music." She pulled a small black box that resembled primitive technology from a back pouch of the case. "This is a CD player."  
  
"Fascinating," the captain said.  
  
"I happen to know that this crew is notorious for sucky parties. Will you allow me to plan one on the holodeck and use my music? It could be a big costume ordeal- you could all dress like you're from my time. I'll show you how."  
  
"I'm afraid that costumes are out of the question. But the party itself sounds good. I think we all need a break. For some reason, I trust you completely. Will you allow my morale officer to accompany you, though?" Janeway asked.  
  
"Neelix? Of course I would, Captain."  
  
She smiled again. "You are not a member of this crew, and you carry no rank. Therefore, I see no reason that you shouldn't call me by my name."  
  
Erin smiled another brilliant, genuine smile. "Of course. Kathryn it is."  
  
  
When Captain Janeway announced the party to the crew, they were delighted.   
  
"Finally, some life aboard this ship," Tom commented.  
  
"What will this activity include?" Seven asked.  
  
"Since she was so proud of her music, I'm betting that this will be a dance," she replied.  
  
"Oh, great," B'Elanna muttered.  
  
"Ah, that won't be so bad," Tom commented, grinning at her.  
  
"The party will begin at 2000. Dismissed."  
  
Chakotay hung around as the others filed out. "Problem, Commander?" Janeway inquired.  
  
His face grew slightly pink, and he seemed to be struggling to open his mouth, as though he'd been eating her cooking and his jaws were cemented together. "Oh, I'm acting like a sophomore on his first date," Chakotay said, mostly to himself. He swallowed, forced a smile, and spoke again, "Kathryn, would you come to the dance with me?"  
  
The captain suddenly felt the urge to giggle. She had never seen her first officer looking this uncomfortable. She found it to be a great relief. Forcing herself to keep composure, she answered him, "Yes. Yes, I will."  
  
  
At 1930 hours, Captain Janeway's door chime rang. She walked over to answer it and was met by Chakotay in his dress uniform. He also seemed to be wearing some type of cologne. "You'd think you were going to the senior prom," Janeway joked, taking Chakotay's offered arm.  
  
They arrived at holodeck one to find that most of the crew was already there. Apparently, they were as excited about this as the senior staff had been. The holodeck was in a setting that was definitely designed to be a dance floor. The floor was wooden. There was a thin coating of fog over the room, and bright lights shone through making patterns on the floor. A large silver sphere, a "disco ball", if her memory served correct hung in the center of the room. There were tables around the edges of the floor, all tastefully decorated.  
  
Erin emerged through the darkness and fog, her green eyes somehow catching the sparkles form the disco ball. "Welcome to the party, Kathryn, Chakotay," she said, nodding to each of them. 


	2. The River

A song began to play through the darkness. Chakotay and Kathryn, as she'd decided to be called on this occasion, walked out onto the floor.  
  
As the song tinkled out it's soft introductory notes, Chakotay bowed to Kathryn. "May I have this dance?" he asked.  
  
She nodded and moved into his arms. The words began; the song was of a long-ago forgotten genre known as country. Kathryn felt herself melt into Chakotay, and they swayed softly. She listened to the words as a pleasant male voice sang them through the holodeck.  
  
  
You know a dream is like a river   
Ever changin' as it flows   
And a dreamer's just a vessel   
That must follow where it goes   
Trying to learn from what's behind you   
And never knowing what's in store   
Makes each day a constant battle   
Just to stay between the shores.. and   
  
I will sail my vessel   
'Til the river runs dry   
Like a bird upon the wind   
These waters are my sky   
I'll never reach my destination   
If I never try   
So I will sail my vessel   
'Til the river runs dry   
  
Too many times we stand aside   
And let the waters slip away   
'Til what we put off 'til tomorrow   
Has now become today   
So don't you sit upon the shoreline   
And say you're satisfied   
Choose to chance the rapids   
And dare to dance the tide.. yes   
  
I will sail my vessel   
'Til the river runs dry   
Like a bird upon the wind   
These waters are my sky   
I'll never reach my destination   
If I never try   
So I will sail my vessel   
'Til the river runs dry   
  
And there's bound to be rough waters   
And I know I'll take some falls   
But with the good Lord as my captain   
I can make it through them all.. yes   
  
I will sail my vessel   
'Til the river runs dry   
Like a bird upon the wind   
These waters are my sky   
I'll never reach my destination   
If I never try   
So I will sail my vessel   
'Til the river runs dry   
  
Yes, I will sail my vessel   
'Til the river runs dry   
'Til the river runs dry   
  
The song ended, and Chakotay was suddenly aware that he felt moisture seeping in on his shoulder. He looked down to see that Kathryn was crying, repeating the words softly to herself. "I will sail my vessel 'til the river runs dry... I'll never reach my destination if I never try, so I will sail my vessel 'til the river runs dry."  
  
Chakotay realized that the song had hit home with her. Still holding her gingerly, he guided her over to a seat by a table. He pulled another chair up next to hers and snaked his arm around her shoulders. She leaned onto his shoulder and continued to sob. Chakotay held her reassuringly. "We'll make it home. I promise." 


	3. You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This

Soon, Kathryn recovered from her momentary sadness and weakness. She stood up, obviously sending a message to Chakotay that she wanted to dance again. Another slow song played, and she quickly melted into Chakotay again.  
  
Kathryn had denied her feelings for her handsome first officer for so long. She felt it all slipping through her fingers as she clung to him. The look in her eyes was unmistakable, she was sure, and his expression mirrored hers. Suddenly, she couldn't stand it anymore. Her arms were already wrapped tightly around his neck. She guided his mouth to hers and kissed him with all the passion that she had wanted to release for so long. The kiss was long, but short. It was gentle and intense. Kathryn didn't really fully understand. She just knew she had waited far too long for this. She pulled away and looked up uncertainly. It was unmistakable, though. The look on his face clearly said that her feelings were reciprocated. Cautiously, she reached up and drew his lips to hers. In her peripheral vision, she saw a few crew members gathered around them in a circle. They looked unsure of what to do, although they seemed dying to talk about what they were seeing.  
  
Another country ballad floated through the holodeck, although Kathryn was a bit too preoccupied to note the irony of its words.  
  
I've got a funny feeling   
The moment that your lips touched mine   
Something shot right through me   
My heart skipped a beat in time   
There's a different feel about you tonight   
It's got me thinking lots of crazy things   
I think I even saw a flash of light   
It felt like electricity   
  
You shouldn't kiss me like this unless you mean it like that   
Cause I'll just close my eyes and I won't know where I'm at   
We'll get lost on this dance floor spinning around   
And around and around and around   
They're all watching us now they think we're falling in love   
They'd never believe we're just friends   
When you kiss me like this I think you mean it like that   
If you do baby kiss me again   
  
Everybody swears we'd make a perfect pair   
But dancing is as far as it goes   
Girl you've never moved me quite the way you moved me tonight   
I just wanted you to know   
I just wanted you to know   
  
You shouldn't kiss me like this unless you mean it like that   
Cause I'll just close my eyes and I won't know where I'm at   
We'll get lost on this dance floor spinning around   
And around and around and around   
They're all watching us now they think we're falling in love   
They'd never believe we're just friends   
When you kiss me like this I think you mean it like that   
If you do baby kiss me again   
  
Kathryn had become aware of the music fairly soon into the song. She glanced out the corners of her eyes at the surrounding crewman. She gave a slight shrug and stretched up. And she kissed him again. 


End file.
